It is well known in the art that certain organs have specific identifiable frequencies. For example, a liver may have a first frequency A and a heart may have a second frequency B. Harmonics of such frequencies may be examined for beneficial use, such as identifying contamination, toxicity, incongruence and dysfunction which can aid in the in-depth analysis and progress of the monitored object.
Coppleson et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,350) teaches a tissue recognition device in which a probe contacts tissue, subjecting the tissue to a plurality of different stimuli such as electrical, light, heat, sound, magnetic stimuli and detecting plural physical responses to the stimuli. These responses are transferred to a processor from a probe. The processor categorizes a tissue and then compares the categorization with a catalog of expected tissue to identify the tissue and provide an indication of tissue types such as normal, pre-cancerous/cancerous or unknown.
Lodder (U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,610) teaches the utilization of near-IR radiation and acoustic waves for the analysis of a specimen using, for example, a technique for non-invasively determining cholesterol concentrations. The non-invasive and non-destructive approach of the invention described therein can provide a diagnostic technique that may be utilized to predict the risks of stroke, confirm the existence of certain matter and even monitor the effectiveness of treatment procedures.
Brooks (U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,045) discloses a technique and apparatus for diagnosing a bone by passing a current through the bone, measuring current flow with a galvanometer and comparing stored properties with the detected property to determine the condition of the bone which information can be used for diagnostic capabilities as well as biometric recognition, the latter being similar to fingerprint and voice recognition, for example.
Schmidt (U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,537) teaches the detection of electro-magnetic signals from bodies which includes obtaining frequency components from the received signals that are characteristic of the living bodies through the use of a demodulator having a non-linear current/voltage characteristic that is frequently selective for the purpose of demodulating frequency components that are characteristics of the living bodies.
Godik (U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,958) teaches diagnosing pathological changes in tissues in a non-invasive manner through the utilization of infrared radiation together with simultaneous scanning of the investigated organ volume with the focal spot of a focus beam of amplitude modulator ultrasound waves. At least one of the parameters which appear as a result of the transmitted and/or back scattered infrared radiation is recorded and the presence and type of pathology in the investigated organ is judged by the value and/or characteristics of the relative change in parameters during the scanning process.
Dimarogonas (U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,876) teaches a method and apparatus for determining bone density and for diagnosing osteoporosis through vibrating a bone, measuring the amplitude at which the bone vibrates at given frequencies, comparing theoretical amplitudes with measured amplitudes. The invention uses standardized modal damping factors or bone density values for patients and bones having various characteristics which include age, sex, fitness level, bone type, etc. The patient's bone density or modal damping factor is then compared to the standardized values.
Wilcox (U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,849) teaches apparatus for soft tissue diagnosis by detecting responses of the soft tissue to acoustic energy. The responses to the acoustic energy are plotted for both injured and normal tissue. The comparison of the peaks indicates the presence of stress and/or injury in the soft tissue. The scan of normal tissue may be considered to be data which is stored for purposes of aiding in the analysis of damaged tissue.
Antich et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,787 likewise employs ultrasound waves for analyzing bone properties and utilizing critical angles of reflection to evaluate the mechanical properties of the material in a non-invasive manner.
It is desirable to compile information in a database which includes frequencies associated with different diseases and other characteristics of living tissue, such that it may be accessed for comparison with received frequency samples.